Shattered Union (XBOX) FAQ 1.3/Mar 2006
Author: saintly@innocent.com
This FAQ is copyright 2006, but 'Shattered Union', 'Xbox' and other
trademarkable names are probably trademarked by people like
'Take-Two Interactive' and 'Microsoft'. This FAQ is not officially
endorsed or authorized by anyone.
To send questions about things not contained in the FAQ, suggestions
comments, spelling corrections or death threats, send email to me
at the above address. I'll be more likely to read your message if
you include a subject line like
'Shattered Union 1.2' (or whatever version of the FAQ this is)
I still need help with:
- Tips/strategies for Campaign Mode
- Suggestions for more sections to add
- The experience system
I'll credit anyone who helps make this FAQ better.
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Table of Contents [QFC]
There are 'Quick-Find' tags at the start of each major section to
help you jump to them in your browser. To jump to the 'Faction
Powers List', search for 'QFX'. It should only be found at its
entry in the table of contents and the start of its section.
0. About this FAQ
1. What kind of game is Shattered Union? [QFA]
a. Where can I find more information?
b. Is this game popular?
2. Basic Game-play [QFG]
a. Purchase/Repair/Replace units
b. Deploy Units
c. Battle phases
3. Multiplayer [QFM]
4. Skirmish Strategy [QFB]
5. Unit Comparison Table [QFU]
6. Unit type discussions/Notes [QFD]
a. Single-Use units
b. Infantry units
c. Light Armor
d. Medium Armor
e. Heavy Armor
f. Artillery
g. Anti-Aircraft
h. Helicopters
i. Fighters and Bombers
j. Special Units
7. Game Mechanics [QFM]
a. Terrain Effects [QFT]
b. Refuelling & Repairing
c. Attack and Defense
d. Mines
e. Russian Aid
8. Factions [QFF]
a. New England Alliance
b. The Confederacy
c. Great Plains Federation
d. Republic of Texas
e. California Commonwealth
f. Pacifica
g. European Union
h. Russia
9. Reputation level & Faction powers [QFR]
10. Faction Powers List [QFX]
11. Power summary & quick-ref [QFS]
12. Full Powers Descriptions [QFD]
13. Campaign Mode [QFC]
a. Territory Values
b. AI notes
c. Controller tricks
d. Campaign Mode Strategies
e. Unit Experience
14. Campaign Mode Walkthrough [QFW]
a. Turn 1.
b. Beginning-Midgame (Turns 2-25 or so)
c. Midgame-End (Turns 25-50 or so)
d. Endgame (Turns 50+)
15. Campaign strategies
a. Playing as EU on Hard difficulty
16. 101 uses for a Partisan [QFP]
17. Cheat Codes
18. Misc
19. Version History
20. Acknowledgements
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0. About this FAQ
The latest version of this FAQ can be found at:
http://www.cheatcc.com/
If you found it somewhere else, make sure to get the latest version before
sending me any questions or comments. Other sites are free to post it
without asking me so long as:
1) It's posted in it's entirety
2) You don't charge people to see it
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1. What kind of game is Shattered Union? [QFA]
Shattered Union is a turn-based strategic warfare game, similar to
the SNES game 'Super Conflict' or the GBA series 'Advance Wars'.
If you haven't played those, you can think of it as being similar
to board games like 'Battletech', 'Warhammer' or even 'Risk' or
Chess. All these games enjoyed a modest success, mostly with
strategy game fans.
In a turn-based strategy game you look down on a battlefield. You
can see all your units and a certain distance away from them
(called their 'Sight Radius'). The rest of the map is hidden from
your view by the 'Fog of War'. All you can see of the rest of the
map are basic terrain features.
On your turn, you can move any of your units to anywhere within
their movement range. If you move them within range of an enemy
unit, you can attack it. The other player cannot take any actions
during your turn, though their units will defend themselves if
attacked or perform other automatic tasks.
After you've moved as many units as you like, you end your turn
and can take no actions during your opponent's phase.
a. Where can I find more information?
The official site (with trailer, screenshots & game information) is:
http://www.2kgames.com/shatteredunion/home.php
PopTop Software has it's own website for the game, with links to
reviews from different magazines & websites:
http://www.poptop.com/su/index.html
Express World is a fan site dedicated to PopTop games, they have a
page for Shattered Union and a discussion forum:
http://www.expressworldforum.com/forum/index.php?board=5.0 (Forum)
http://www.express-world.co.uk/union/ (Shattered Union webpage)
b. Is this game popular?
Sadly, no. It was released for the PC and only one console; the Xbox.
Console strategy games are rare, and most of them (and the people that
play them) are with the PC and PS2. Furthermore, it was released
without any advertising at the end of the Xbox's life cycle. To add
insult to injury, Poptop appears to have stopped all work on it, so
there won't be a PC demo, patches or a map editor unless diehard fans
create them themselves.
Reviewers generally liked it, calling it an above average game, but
not one of the outstanding best (it gots lots of 80% scores, 4 out of 5s,
8 out of 10s, etc..).
c. I really like it, what are similar games?
The MOST similar games I can think of are the old NES game 'Conflict',
and the SNES sequel 'Super Conflict'. In both of them you have a hex
grid & modern military units. The goal is to defeat your enemy's
'Flag Tank' (or 'Flag Ship' in Super Conflict).
The 'Advance Wars' series for the Game Boy are also similar, with
modern units on a square grid.
There are plenty of other turn-based strategy games though. For the
PS2, 'Disgaea', 'La Pucelle Tactics' and 'Makai Kingdom' are all
fantasy turn-based strategy games.
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2. Basic Game-play [QFG]
Whether you're playing Campaign Mode or fighting a friend, the
heart of the game is the tactical battle. In 'Skirmish' mode,
this is the whole game.
The tactical battle follows this game flow:
a. Purchase/Repair/Replace units
Repairing units is only done in Campaign mode (in Skirmish mode you
won't have any units to repair). It costs about 30% of the unit's
price to completely repair it to full health.
If you're the defending player in Campaign mode, you can only repair
units or buy Single-use units.
If you accidentally buy something in Skirmish mode, hit 'Y' to go to
repair/sell mode and sell it back for full price. This doesn't work
in Campaign mode, so be careful what you buy.
b. Deploy Units
The attacker goes first and can deploy units anywhere in the
highlighted yellow hexes. You cannot attack or use any special powers
in 'Deploy Units' mode. Press 'Back' to end your turn. After the
defender deploys their units, the tactical battle starts.
c. Battle phases
Generally, the attacker has to capture a certain number of points worth
of towns or structures. Each town has a different point rating, so
attackers often want to prioritize and focus their attack on a few key
cities. Attackers can also win by destroying all the defender's units.
If the attacker fails to capture enough objectives within the allotted
time (15 turns), or all the attacking units are wiped out by the
defender, the attacker loses.
If the attacker wins in campaign mode, they capture that territory and
can launch attacks against other territories touching it.
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3. Multiplayer [QFM]
You can play this game against a human opponent. The simplest
way to do this is the following:
On Controller 1, Pick 'Skirmish', then 'New'
Hit 'Start' on Controller 2
Each select starting faction, cash and reputation
Hit 'A' on Controller 1 when both players are ready
If you have only one controller, use 'R' on it to switch over to
the 'CPU' side, then go up and change the CPU type 'Human'. Now
you will need to hand off the controller to the person playing.
This way is most like the 'Conflict' games, but some features of
the game (the Fog of War, mines, choosing units, etc..) will lose
some of their effectiveness since both players can see what the
other does on their turn. It might be a good idea for each player
to step out of the room during the 'purchase' phase, at least.
The other options are to play against someone with their own
XBOX, copy of the game and separate TV via 'System Link', or find
an opponent on XBOX live.
Note that multiplayer is available only for 'Skirmish' mode, not
the full campaign.
You can select your starting reputation, or pick '?' or 'X'. If
you pick 'X' you'll get no powers for the battle. If you pick ?,
your reputation will be randomly selected (you don't get 5 random
powers, you get whatever powers you'd get normally for having the
reputation you're randomly given).
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4. Skirmish Strategy [QFB]
Both attacker and defender strategies are very different in skirmish
games, as opposed to the single-player campaign mode. The defender
will usually want to have a different strategy from the attacker.
The attacker is focused on offense, attacking power and moving
quickly across the map to capture towns. It's usually better to
keep pressing your attack and try to win quickly. Other
strategies are possible (especially if you know the defender is
going to try a different strategy) but attackers usually aren't
good at defending and occupying territory. It's often better to
avoid the defender's heavy defensive positions and capture as
much undefended area as you can, hoping to lure the defense out
into an offensive war they may not be equipped for. Keep in mind
that defenders usually have a huge air advantage since their
airport can be placed well out of your reach.
The defender, on the other hand, is usually going to want to stay
focused on high-defense and long-range attacks, not worrying about
lack of mobility. For this reason, the single-use units are a
great value: they have high defense and offense scores and are
dirt-cheap. They're great for supplementing your units and making
any attacks on the major objectives costly for the attacker. They
shouldn't be ignored because it looks like they "waste" money in
campaign mode. It's far better to lose a bunker than a tank.
Since fighters & bombers can move over the entire map, you can place
your airport as far away as possible from the attackers and can
afford to invest more in fighters and bombers. Put it on top of a
minor city to use it's 100HP to defend it.
These are the 'classic' strategies, but defenders can also try to
mix it up, perhaps trying to win by wiping out the attackers on
offense, or the attacker focusing on air strikes and air support.
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5. Unit Comparison Table [QFU]
Legend:
Fl - Flag (The country/region that can buy these weapons)
$$ - Unit cost, in thousands
Attack - Damage vs Infantry (If), Vehicles (Vh), Aircraft (Ac)
Df/HP - Defense strength and hit points
CD - Collateral Damage
SR - Sight Range
(The unit clears the 'Fog of War' up to this distance)
TR - Target Range (Unit can attack this far away)
MV/Fuel - Movement range per turn, fuel supply
Attack
Unit Name Fl $$$ If/Vh/Ac Df/HP CD SR TR MV/Fuel
[Single-Use Units]
Militia US 3 12/ 8/ 0 4/14 1 4 1 4/-
Sympathizers RU 3 12/ 8/ 0 4/14 1 4 1 4/-
Peacekeepers EU 3 12/ 8/ 0 4/14 1 4 1 4/-
FH 105mm EU 10 14/11/ 0 3/20 12 3 4 0/-
155mm M777 US 15 15/14/ 0 3/20 16 3 5 0/-
M46 130mm RU 15 17/13/ 0 3/20 15 3 5 0/-
FH 155mm EU 15 15/14/ 0 3/20 16 3 5 0/-
Defense Tower US 15 12/10/13 10/20 2 3 3 0/-
RU Defense Tower RU 15 12/10/13 10/20 2 3 3 0/-
EU Defense Tower EU 15 12/10/13 10/20 2 3 4 0/-
Bunker US 15 10/14/ 0 11/21 3 2 2 0/-
RU Bunker RU 15 10/14/ 0 11/21 3 2 2 0/-
EU Bunker EU 15 10/14/ 6 11/21 3 2 2 0/-
[Infantry Units]
Heavy Infantry US 10 6/13/ 9 3/15 4 3 2 3/-
Guards Infantry RU 10 6/13/ 9 3/15 4 3 2 3/-
EU Heavy Infantry EU 10 6/13/ 9 3/15 4 3 2 3/-
Engineer US 14 5/11/ 0 4/17 10 3 1 4/-
Pioneer RU 14 5/11/ 0 4/17 10 3 1 4/-
Sapper EU 14 5/11/ 0 4/17 10 3 1 4/-
Commandos US 15 15/15/ 0 7/18 3 3 1 4/-
Spetsnaz RU 15 15/15/ 0 7/18 3 3 1 4/-
EU Commandos EU 15 15/15/ 0 7/18 3 3 1 4/-
[Partisans]
PartisanNC GP 3* 6/ 4/ 2 2/15 1 3 1 8/45
PartisanNE NE 3* 4/ 4/ 4 2/15 1 3 1 8/45
PartisanNW PA 3* 4/ 4/ 6 2/15 1 3 1 8/45
PartisanSC TX 3* 8/ 5/ 2 2/15 1 3 1 8/47
PartisanSE CF 3* 6/ 4/ 2 2/15 1 3 1 8/45
PartisanSW CA 3* 4/ 6/ 2 2/15 1 3 1 8/47
[Light Armor]
Humvee US 6 5/ 4/ 6 2/18 1 4 1 10/60
Vodnik RU 6 5/ 4/ 6 2/18 1 4 1 10/60
VBL-1 EU 6 5/ 4/ 6 2/18 1 4 1 10/60
Striker US 15 11/ 7/ 4 6/18 2 4 1 8/55
Pandur EU 15 11/ 7/ 4 6/20 2 4 1 8/55
Bradley US 25 13/13/ 4 8/20 1 3 1 5/40
BTR-90 RU 25 13/13/ 4 8/20 1 3 1 5/45
Marder EU 25 13/13/ 4 8/20 1 3 1 5/40
[Medium Armor]
Sheridan US 28 12/12/ 6 8/18 2 3 2 6/50
LAV US 30 0/18/ 0 11/18 2 3 2 8/45
Vextra EU 30 6/14/ 0 6/18 2 3 2 8/50
M8 US 32 10/14/ 6 2/18 1 3 2 7/45
AMX 30 EU 32 10/14/ 6 9/18 3 3 2 7/45
[Heavy Armor]
T-55 RU 35 12/16/ 3 10/20 4 2 2 4/35
M60 US 36 10/16/ 6 10/20 4 2 2 5/35
Challenger 1 EU 36 10/16/ 6 10/20 4 2 2 6/35
Leopard 2 EU 42 12/17/ 6 12/21 4 2 2 5/35
Abrams US 45 13/17/ 6 12/21 4 2 2 6/30
T-90 RU 50 14/18/ 6 13/22 5 2 2 6/30
FCS Stuart PA 50 19/17/ 8 12/24 4 3 2 7/45
FCS Jackson CA 50 20/17/ 6 13/30 10 2 1 6/30
EU Goliath EU 51 14/18/ 6 13/23 7 2 2 5/35
FCS Bragg NE 51 12/19/ 6 13/22 5 2 2 5/50
FCS Lee CF 52 12/20/ 6 13/22 3 2 2 5/30
FCS Hood TX 53 10/20/ 6 13/24 5 2 2 4/30
[Artillery]
Big Tom US 35 17/13/ 0 3/16 16 3 4 4/45
Paladin US 38 14/13/ 0 4/18 14 2 4 5/40
Zuzana EU 38 18/13/ 4 2/20 16 1 5 5/40
MERL US 40 18/13/ 0 4/20 19 1 5 5/40
PzH 2000 EU 42 12/17/ 0 6/22 15 3 4 5/35
Crusader US 42 15/15/ 5 6/22 12 3 4 5/35
Smerch RU 45 20/16/ 0 3/16 30 1 5 5/40
FCS Grant GP 51 20/17/10 11/25 20 2 4 4/35
[Anti-Aircraft]
Chaparral US 42 0/ 0/19 6/20 0 4 4 6/40
Avenger US 46 8/ 5/14 6/20 1 4 3 8/40
Vulcan US 46 11/10/15 7/21 4 3 2 6/40
Tridon EU 50 6/12/15 7/20 7 5 2 8/50
Gepard EU 55 8/12/17 8/21 3 3 4 5/40
Shilka RU 56 12/13/16 10/25 8 4 2 6/45
[Helicopters]
Warrior US 38 12/ 7/ 0 3/16 3 5 2 10/65
Mangusta EU 45 12/15/ 5 4/18 5 4 2 8/50
Super Cobra US 50 12/13/12 4/18 4 5 2 8/50
Apache US 60 12/18/ 8 6/21 5 4 2 8/50
Tiger EU 60 12/18/12 6/21 5 5 2 8/50
Hind RU 65 15/16/ 5 10/25 8 4 2 6/45
[Fighters & Bombers]
Tornado EU 95 0/ 0/16 6/20 0 5 2 -/-
Super Hornet US 100 0/ 0/17 6/22 0 5 2 -/-
JSF US 110 0/ 0/18 8/24 0 5 2 -/-
Mig-35 Interceptor RU 110 0/ 0/18 8/24 0 5 2 -/-
Typhoon EU 112 0/ 0/18 8/25 0 5 2 -/-
A-10 Thunderbolt US 115 14/18/ 0 8/20 13 5 1 -/-
Bear RU 120 20/20/ 0 5/20 20 5 1 -/-
LA4 Nimrod EU 120 20/20/ 0 5/18 20 5 1 -/-
Stealth Bomber US 125 20/20/ 0 6/18 20 5 1 -/-
[Special Units]
Android/Cyborg/Borg - 30* 15/15/ 6 8/22 5 4 2 5/-
Airfield - 10* 0/ 0/13 10/100 0 3 3 0/-
*Some unit prices are marked with the '*' (partisans, cyborgs, airfield).
These units are always free to the side that gets them, but this is how
much they count as 'money lost' if they are destroyed.
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6. Unit type discussions/Notes [QFD]
a. Single-Use units
These units have good stats, and they are the only units you
can buy when it is not your turn (when other players attack you
in campaign mode).
Mostly not much use on offense since they can't move. For an
offensive player, they are best used to defend your airbase or
your initial placement of artillery units. The light infantry
make decent scouts for offense, you can buy 3 for the price of
1 heavy infantry.
For defense, these have stats comparable to the best tanks and
their lack of movement isn't a problem since the enemy will be
coming to you. Later on in the game, you'll want to have
permanent versions of these units (Heavy Armor = Bunker/Tower,
Artillery = Guns), but if you are caught off guard on defense
and need a bunch of units, this is your only option.
Single-Use units disappear after they have been used in battle,
but you can "pre-buy" them and have them sitting around till
you need them. Since you can buy them anytime, I don't see what
value this has, aside from possibly raising your unit count to
scare off attacks.
b. Infantry units
Commandos are cheap anti-tank and anti-infantry units.
If you place them in cities, they also have great armor.
Engineers are special units that can lay/destroy mines.
Generally, this isn't as useful since you fight most of
the battle at the front lines, and since the attacker gets
to go first, you may not have any time to lay mines.
Heavy Infantry are good at holding spots till your other units
can arrive. Token forces of them at each city can buy some
time. They're also useful for attacking patrolling aircraft
I don't usually bother with infantry units, preferring to save my
money for more heavy tanks.
c. Light Armor
These are your cheapest scouts. They do the least damage of any
unit, but they're very fast and can explore the map quickly.
If you have several of them, you can use hit-and-run tactics
against a single enemy unit (which can only return fire once).
I start with a couple of Humvees, but when I have enough money
I replace them with Warrior helicopters for their wider sight
range. If all their movement is along a road, Humvees can actually
move farther than Warrior helicopters.
d. Medium Armor
More armor than a scout, more mobile than heavy armor. If you
want a vehicle that doesn't suck at anything, you could be
thinking about these. For a defender, good for putting in the
cities you aren't expecting the enemy to attack.
The LAV is a cheap, nasty tank-killer and its more mobile than
heavy armor.
I start with a couple LAVs but eventually replace them with FCS
tanks.
e. Heavy Armor
The stars of the battlefield are your heavy armor. They're the
slow, beefy musclemen that take forever to get somewhere, but
deal punishing damage when they do. They're very vulnerable to
helicopters and bombers, so they should travel with an escort.
They're good for clearing infantry and especially good at
fighting other tanks. Due to their slowness and massive armor
ratings, they're much better at defense than offense.
I like to have lots of these (preferably FCS tanks) since they're
great for defense and can eventually steamroll their way over
everything on offense.
f. Artillery
Although unable to defend themselves against attacks from close
range, and having generally weak armor, these units can all dish
out high damage from a distance. Since they can attack 4-5
squares away, they can fire from the safety of your rear line,
while heavy tanks/bunkers/towers defend them.
They can all fire farther away than they can see, so to get the
most use out of them you need to have 'spotters' like your
scouts or infantry to spread out and expose enemy units to
shoot. All these weapons have high collateral damage, and using
them a lot will make you more 'evil'
These would be nicer if it were easier to protect them, but as
soon as the AI sees them it sends every unit it has to blow them
up. It's tough to keep these alive
If you're playing Pacifica, the FCS Stuart's high move rate and
ability to fire 2 squares away means it can deliver more firepower
than your artillery and reach almost as distant a target as the
best artillery every turn.
The Great Plain's special unit ('FCS Grant') fixes many of the
problems with artillery. It has decent armor, can fend off enemy
helicopters and dish out quite a bit more damage.
For some reason, the CPU really loves artillery, so expect to see
a lot of it coming your way. If you trap the last faction in a
lone territory and let them attack you repeatedly, they'll send
waves of artillery + infantry at you.
g. Anti-Aircraft
Many units can attack aircraft, but Anti-Aircraft units are the
best at it. Even when it is not your turn, AA get to attack first
on any enemy fighter or bomber that tries to attack or patrol in
the AA unit's attack range. They can respond unlimited times this
way, so the enemy can't get free bombing runs just by sending a
fighter on a suicide run.
Although AA has low armor, they can move quite far each turn to
help you get within range of patrolling aircraft or helicopters.
They're nasty enough that I make them my primary target when attacking,
and always take them with me for defense.
A single 'Chaparral' can destroy a stealth bomber occasionally, but
two AAs in the same area can blow up nearly any aircraft that tries
to patrol or attack in their protected area.
An AA unit is also great for protecting your helicopters from enemy
fighters. It can make a great 'base' to keep your helicopters around
when you're exploring.
If the AA can attack ground units, it can attack them at the same
range it attacks air units. This isn't much help to US troops, but it
makes the EU's AA units double as weak artillery.
h. Helicopters
Helicopters are basically anti-tank weapons. Although a couple
of them have a decent air-attack rating, they'll usually die if
they attack fighters. Super Cobras are like weak, but fast
AA guns. Unlike using a fighter to take out another helicopter,
Super Cobras don't trigger an auto-response from AA.
Warriors make great scouts, able to run over any type of terrain
and see up to 4 squares away. Apaches and Tigers are probably the
best units in the game at destroying ground units.
The EU's "Tiger" is better in every way than the "Mangusta", so
you have no reason to keep the Mangustas around. It's the best
attack helicopter around and is great at finishing off other
helicopters as well as the odd nearly-dead patrolling fighter.
Helicopters and jets are unable to capture territory. If you send a
squad of copters to attack an enemy territory and destroy all the
defender units, you still won't take over that territory. Ground units
can move through a helicopter unit, but can't stop on the same square
as one. Helicopters can likewise fly over ground units.
i. Fighters and Bombers
Bombers do lots of damage to units (with high collateral damage)
Fighters basically defend against bombers and helicopters. You
can put fighters on Patrol in an area to expose the map and
attack any bombers/helicopters that try to enter the protected
area. They are basically very mobile Anti-Aircraft.
Fighters & Bombers aren't placed on the map like other units.
Instead you'll be asked to place a single 'Airfield' unit on the
map during the deployment phase. Once placed, it cannot be
moved, and if it's destroyed you lose access to all aircraft and
aircraft-related special abilities until the next battle.
Press 'X' anywhere on the map to call up your aircraft menu.
Cycle through the available aircraft and assign as many as you
like to a task (bombing, patrolling, etc..)
If you see a lone Anti-aircraft unit, you can attempt to bomb it.
Instead of the AA getting to attack first like it usually does, it
will go after your bombing attack. If your attack destroys the AA,
you will get away without taking damage. If there are other AA
around, they still get to attack you first though, so this is a
tactic to be used with caution.
j. Special Units
Many people don't know that you can use the airfield to attack things.
Click it like a normal unit and attack an air unit within 3 squares.
It has 100 HPs, making it nearly impossible to destroy on one turn (it
would take something like 8 attacks from stealth bombers to blow it up,
or 9 or more heavy tanks). Additionally, if it was placed in a city,
not used to attack, and you can clear the squares around it of enemy
units, it will regain 50 health every turn.
If an airfield is destroyed, ALL aircraft the owner brought to the battle
are also destroyed. The manual states in one place that you just lose
access to them for the battle, but this is incorrect.
Androids, Cyborgs and Borgs are created by special powers. They can be
dropped on any square within your sight radius, so they are particularly
nasty when combined with Pacifica's 'All Seeing Eye' (which lets you see
the entire battlefield). Since they're free units, they're also
expendable.
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7. Game Mechanics [QFM]
a. Terrain Effects [QFT]
Terrain has two effects. Units that stand on it have a bonus
or penalty to their defense score, and it may hinder or help units
walking over it. Aircraft are not affected by terrain at all,
though the airfield itself is affected as if it was a 'Ground Vehicle'
Effects on defense:
Unit type City Forest/Hill Road Clear/Field Water
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Infantry +5 +3 -1 -1 -2
Ground Vehicle +1 +1 -1 0 -6
Note that infantry units never get their base defense, it will always
be lower or higher depending on the terrain. If a road runs through
any kind of terrain, you still get the 'road' defense penalty for
standing on it.
Effects on movement are a bit harder to determine, but as best I
can figure out, it seems to work this way:
The unit's movement score is multiplied by 10. Attempting to move
onto each kind of tile subtracts a certain number of points. The
numbers below are my best guess at the moment:
Effects on movement:
Unit type City Fors Road Clear River Mountain Barrier Lake
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Infantry 10 18 7 12 20 12+ +20 -
Ground Vehicle 12 20* 8 12 35 - +50 -
Helicopter 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10
Barriers are the movement-impairing traps laid by engineers,
'Dragons Teeth' are for vehicles and 'Barbed Wire' are for infantry.
They add their value to whatever the base modifier was for the tile.
Engineers ignore barriers and destroy them automatically when they walk
over them.
The costs for rivers and mountains are usually what is listed, but there
is a cost for climbing/descending heights that can raise the numbers.
Infantry can often move faster through mountains than over hills, since
they aren't moving from one height to a different one as much.
*Forest tiles are more difficult for some vehicles to move over than
others. Vehicles are broken into 'wheeled', 'tread' and 'towed'
categories. It costs 2 more points for 'tread' vehicles and 8 more
for 'towed' (I think only the Tridon is towed).
b. Refuelling & Repairing
If you don't move a unit or use it to attack, it can regain some health
and fuel at the end of your turn (and before the opponent gets to move).
This is normally 25% max health and 50% max fuel recovered (fractions
are rounded down), but these are doubled if the unit was in a city.
The airfield also regains health this way, recovering 50 HPs per turn
if it was placed in a city. Since you cannot move an airfield, the
only reasons it won't recover are that an enemy is next to it, or
you used it to attack an air unit nearby.
An enemy unit can prevents the recovery of all units it is touching.
It does not prevent the recovery of units 2 or more squares away, even
it has an attack range of 2 or more.
Aircraft recover 25% of max health every turn they are not used. They
never get the bonus for being in a city regardless of where the airfield
is placed.
c. Attack and Defense
The formula for determining damage from an attack seems to be:
Typical Damage = (Attack - Defense) * 1.5
Even though this is "typical", the amount can vary from as little as
2/3 of this amount to almost double this amount. The extreme cases
are rare, but slight variations are more common.
Example:
Two 'Abrams' heavy armor tanks attack each other. Both are on
roads, so both are getting -1 to DEF. A vehicle attack score of
17 is attacking a defense score of 11.
(17 - 11) * 1.5 = 9
So they'll usually do about 9 damage. Scores of 10 and 8 will be
about as common as 9. It would be possible to do as much as 18 or
as little as 6, but these would both be extremely rare.
This formula breaks down when the Defense score is equal to or greater
than the attack score. If the scores are tied, the attacker will do
from 1-3 damage, and if the defense score is higher the attacker has
a 50% chance of doing either 1 or 0 damage.
d. Mines
Engineer-laid "standard" mines appear to have an attack score of 20.
To lay a mine, select an engineer and press the 'DOWN' arrow on the
D-Pad (the manual says UP, but it's wrong). The standard mine is to the
left, the dragons teeth are to the right, and barbed wire is 'up'.
Many of the 'evil' powers also leave behind squares that cause damage to
whoever passes through them. The only ones that engineers can clear
are the mines from 'High Altitude Bombing'
e. Russian Aid
'Russian Aid' looks like brown boxes on the map. If a ground unit moves
over it, it can turn into one of four things:
- Heals or resupplies fuel to the unit
- A temporary buff/bonus to the unit and/or adjacent units
- A bonus Russian unit appears to help you till the end of the battle
- A mine (this is very rare; attack strength is low as well, around 8)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8. Factions [QFF]
There are 8 different "teams" in this game, called 'Factions'. In
Campaign Mode, Russian units will only appear in the final battle of
the game (after you have united America again). In Skirmish mode,
you can pick from all 8. All the american factions have basically
the same units, though each has one unique unit (usually a beefed-up
heavy armor tank) that no-one else can buy.
The European Union and Russia (if you're playing Skirmish mode)
have units all their own and can't buy the American units.
Aside from their unique units, each faction also has different
powers that become available as your political reputation changes.
If you do lots of collateral damage, you become more 'evil' and
gain access to nastier powers that let you bomb large areas. If
you try to minimize CD, you become more 'good' and gain healing
and support powers. Additionally, 'partisan' units (similar to
light armor) might join the "most good" side for a single fight
in campaign mode.
Most American factions have several unique powers that can be gained
for being extremely evil or good (the EU, Russia and the Great Plains
territory just have duplicates of other American faction powers)
In campaign mode, the different factions follow a specific turn
order. This is only important on the first turn (if you pick EU,
you'll get to go only after New England and the Confederacy have had
a chance to take you out first). The factions are:
a. New England Alliance [1st]
Starting in the Atlantic Northeast, this faction's special
power is manipulating the morale of units to inspire
courage or fear.
You have three opponents at the beginning of the game, but
you can probably wipe out the EU quickly to reduce that
to only two. If you do that, this is one of the easier
factions to play. Starting out with 'Mortar Attack' make
it easy for you to go Evil as well.
Unique unit: FCS Bragg [Heavy Armor]
Unique powers: Persuade, Heroic Cause, Forced March
Demoralize, Forlorn Hope, Cower
b. The Confederacy [2nd]
Starting in the southwest, this faction's special powers
are related to disease or the use of nanites to boost the
abilities of your units.
They get a nice extra unique ability (Field Support) that
is available at the start of campaign mode, though you will
lose it as you approach an extreme alignment.
Unique unit: FCS Lee [Heavy Armor]
Unique powers: Nanite Cloud, Clone, Microfilament Armor
Field Support,
Plague Bearer, Mortonanites, Ultimate Plague
c. Great Plains Federation [3rd]
This faction starts in the central north of the US.
This is probably the hardest faction to play, since you start with four
other big factions as opponents, all of whom will likely attack you.
Additionally, you get no upgraded FCS tank to defend or steamroll your
opponents with.
Your special powers & special unit are all geared around attacking from
a distance. You also have an easier time going "Evil", which is handy
since your Evil powers are pretty decent and generally better than your
"Good" ones.
Unique unit: FCS Grant [Artillery]
Unique powers: None (powers are a mix of New England & Confederacy)
d. Republic of Texas [4th]
This faction is centered around Texas in the central south of
the US. They get the most unique powers, with the best mix of
different types. Like the Great Plains and Confederacy, this
faction starts out with the most opponents on it's border.
Their unique unit (the FCS Hood) is a bit disappointing, it has
lower speed and infantry attack power than the other faction's
special tanks. In return, it does slightly more collateral
damage (handy if you want to go evil) and has a couple
extra HPs.
Unique unit: FCS Hood [Heavy Armor]
Unique powers: Strike force, Precision Guided Munitions,
Extra Fuel Cells, Double Time, GPS targeting,
Haywire, Tactical Adhesive, High-Altitude Bombing
e. California Commonwealth [5th]
Starting in the southwest, this faction has a number of unique
powers centered around communications and high-tech. This is
a fairly good position to start in, having only Pacifica and
Texas as your enemies.
Unique unit: FCS Jackson [Heavy Armor]
Unique powers: Advanced Reactive Armor, Miscommunication
Equipment Upgrade, High-Explosive rounds,
Code Breaker
f. Pacifica [6th]
This faction starts in the pacific northwest. Their unique
powers relate to exposing the battlefield. Although you
start with 3 factions on your border, California and the Great
Plains often go for Texas, leaving you with only two neighbors
and no-one attacking you for several turns.
Pacifica's unique unit, the FCS Stuart, is cheap and has great
stats, contributing to making Pacifica probably the easiest
place to start.
Unique unit: FCS Stuart [Heavy Armor]
Unique powers: Ultimate Armor, All-Seeing Eye, Long-Range Patrol
Satellite Survey,
Volatile Charges, DU Munitions, MRV
g. European Union [7th]
This is the hardest faction to start with in campaign mode. You
have only one territory in the Washington DC area and will likely
be attacked by your neighbors. Unlike the other factions, you
can't even focus on defense for a few turns since you need to get
out and conquer to raise the money you need.
Your special powers are good, though you have none that aren't
available to the other american factions.
Unique unit: All your units are unique
Unique powers: None
h. Russia [Not available in Campaign Mode]
Only available for skirmish battles, you get some pricey, but very
nice units.
Unique unit: All your units are unique
Unique powers: None
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9. Reputation level & Faction powers [QFR]
Your reputation starts out at 0 (Neutral). This gives you access to 3 powers.
All of them can be used frequently, but none are very powerful. As you use
(or refrain from using) attacks with high collateral damage (CD value), your
reputation goes up or down. It can increase or decrease up to 5 points from
the starting value.
Each step gives you access to one beefier power, though you may lose some
powers you already have access to. You can gain up to 5 powers at the
extremes of reputation. Although middle ("Neutral" powers are not as
spectacular, you can use them a lot more often).
It's actually fairly difficult (requiring a lot of work) to become Evil. The
'Collateral Damage bar' in battle represents how much "senseless" destruction
you've done. It goes up a little if you use bombs or artillery on units in a
city. It goes up slightly more if you just bomb or fire on an empty city
hex. Additionally, once the hex is badly damaged, the amount of collateral
damage you get for shooting into it goes down. Using an evil power like
'Dirty Bomb' or nukes on a bunch of city squares will raise it a lot, but
getting your reputation low enough to use those powers is tricky.
If you end the battle with less than half the collateral damage bar filled,
your reputation will go UP. Every battle. If you have half the bar or more
filled, your reputation will stay in place or go down.
This means that if you are trying to be Evil and want to stay that way, you
need to spend the first bunch of turns shooting at the cities you start with,
or trying to get a unit into a city to detonate 'Dirty Bomb' when it becomes
available. The worst thing the enemy can do to you is to attack and die or
resign quickly, before you've gotten the bar halfway filled. This will cause
you to gain reputation, possibly making you lose access to some evil powers.
If you play casually, you are extremely unlikely to go Evil, even if you
take all reasonable opportunities to bomb enemies in cities. A lot of
artillery and stealth bombers are essential if you want to maintain an evil
reputation. Even at the end of the campaign mode, when the enemy can be
easily slaughtered by a couple tanks, you need to bring a bunch of artillery
and bombers along to pointlessly blow things up. The american public will
even forgive your wanton use of nuclear weapons in a few weeks.
This table shows your reputation and what power #s it gives access to. For
example, at the second-highest 'good' rating, you'll have access to powers
1-5 from your factions power list. At the most evil, you have access to
powers -2 through -6. No matter which direction you go, you quickly lose
access to one of your starting powers and eventually you'll lose access to
all three of them.
GOOD/Green
5: 2 - 6
4: 1 - 5
3: 1 - 4
2: 0 - 3
1: 0 - 2
0: -1 - 1
-1: 0 - -2
-2: 0 - -3
-3: -1 - -4
-4: -1 - -5
-5: -2 - -6
EVIL/Red
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10. Faction Powers List [QFX]
New England Alliance: The Confederacy:
6. EMP (6/7) 6. Nanite Cloud (5/6)
5. Persuade (4/5) 5. Full Spec. Active Warriors (5/5)
4. Tomahawk (4/6) 4. Clone (4/6)
3. Heroic Cause (3/7) 3. Demilitarized Zone (5/5)
2. Laser Guided Bomb (3/3) 2. Microfilament Armor (3/5)
1. Forced March (2/4) 1. Evasive Maneuvers (2/4)
0. Mortar Strike (0/2) 0. Field Support (0/1)
-1. Demoralize (2/5) -1. Feint (2/4)
-2. Napalm (3/5) -2. Plague Bearer (4/4)
-3. Forlorn Hope (4/6) -3. Broken Arrow (2/4)
-4. Salvo (4/5) -4. Mortonanites (2/4)
-5. Cower (5/5) -5. Electronic Countermeasures (5/5)
-6. Thermonuclear War (7/7) -6. Ultimate Plague (5/4)
Republic of Texas: Great Plains Federation:
6. Strike Force (6/6) 6. EMP (6/7)
5. Precision Guided Munitions (5/5) 5. Full Spec. Active Warriors (5/5)
4. Extra Fuel Cells (4/4) 4. Tomahawk (4/6)
3. Smart Munitions (3/5) 3. Demilitarized Zone (3/10)
2. Double Time (2/4) 2. Laser Guided Bomb (3/3)
1. Expert Gunners (2/4) 1. Evasive Maneuvers (2/4)
0. GPS Targeting (0/3) 0. Mortar Strike (0/2)
-1. Long Range Artillery (2/4) -1. Feint (2/4)
-2. Haywire (2/4) -2. Napalm (3/5)
-3. Dirty Bomb (4/3) -3. Broken Arrow (2/4)
-4. Tactical Adhesive (4/4) -4. Salvo (4/5)
-5. Fire Bombing (4/7) -5. Electronic Countermeasures (5/5)
-6. High Altitude Bombing (4/5) -6. Thermonuclear War (7/7)
California Commonwealth: Pacifica:
6. Glory (6/7) 6. Ultimate Armor (6/7)
5. Android Warriors (5/5) 5. Cyborg Soldiers (5/5)
4. Eulogy of Freedom (5/8) 4. All Seeing Eye (4/5)
3. Advanced Reactive Armor (4/5) 3. Nanotechnology (3/6)
2. Hold the Line (2/4) 2. Long Range Patrol (3/5)
1. Miscommunication (2/4) 1. Protonanites (2/3)
0. Rally (0/3) 0. Satellite Survey (0/2)
-1. Equipment Upgrade (2/4) -1. Corrode (2/5)
-2. Frenzy (3/4) -2. Volatile Charges
-3. High Explosive Rounds (3/4) -3. Chemical Warfare (4/5)
-4. Sacrifice (4/5) -4. DU Munitions (4/5)
-5. Code Breaker (4/11) -5. White Phosphorous (4/4)
-6. Mass Defection (6/7) -6. MRV (6/6)
Russia: European Union:
6. EMP (6/7) 6. Glory (6/7)
5. Android Warriors (5/5) 5. Android Warriors (5/5)
4. Tomahawk (4/6) 4. Eulogy of Freedom (5/8)
3. Smart Munitions (3/5) 3. Nanotechnology (3/6)
2. Laser Guided Bomb (3/3) 2. Hold the Line (3/3)
1. Expert Gunners (2/4) 1. Protonanites (2/3)
0. Mortar Attack (0/2) 0. Rally (0/3)
-1. Long Range Artillery (2/4) -1. Corrode (2/5)
-2. Napalm (3/5) -2. Frenzy (3/4)
-3. Dirty Bomb (4/3) -3. Chemical Warfare (4/5)
-4. Salvo (4/5) -4. Sacrifice (4/5)
-5. Fire Bombing (4/7) -5. White Phosphorous (4/4)
-6. Thermonuclear War (7/7) -6. Mass Defection (6/7)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11. Power summary & quick-ref [QFS]
There are 65 different powers (though 'Android Soldiers' and
'Cyborg Warriors' are basically the same), 5 at each level.
Some are available only to specific factions, others are more
common.
Lv = Power level# (positive numbers = good, negative = evil)
CU = Charge-Up (how long after battle starts before you can use it)
CL = CooL-Down (how long after it's used before you can use it again)
AE = Area-Effect (how wide the effect circle is, in hexes)
1 = Affects 1 hex/unit only
2 = Affects hexes surrounding target, 7 total hexes
3 = Affects 2 hexes away from target, 19 total hexes
4 = Affects 3 hexes away from target, 37 total hexes
DM = Attack power/Damage to units in area
DR = Duration, in turns, of powers with persistent effects
AR = Attack Range
SR = Sight Range
MR = Movement Range per turn
CD = Collateral Damage
DEF = Defense
ATK = Attack power (all)
MHP = Max hit points
HP = hit points
regen = regenerate HP per turn
A duration of 'B' means the power leaves a permanent effect. In the case of
'High-Altitude Bombing', the mines disappear once detonated, and can be
cleared by Engineers. They are invisible to opponents and but visible
(and harmless) to you.
Some powers leave persistent effects on tiles that damage units passing
through. A number in parentheses after the comment "Fallout (11)"
indicates the strength of the damage. The damage tiles are usually visible
to opponents, who can choose to go around them and take no damage.
Name Lv CU CL AE Dm Dr Comments
Nanite Cloud +6 5 6 * - 5 MHP +10, 8 HP/regen
Strike Force +6 6 6 3 - B Creates 2 M8, 2 Humvee, 3 Commando
Ultimate Armor +6 6 7 2 - 3 MHP +20, +10 DEF, 10 HP/regen
Glory +6 6 7 * - 1 All units can attack again
EMP +6 6 7 3 - 6 Disable vehicles, destroy Aircraft
Persuade +5 4 5 1 - B Convert enemy unit to your side
Prcs. Guid. Munitions +5 5 5 2 - B AR +1
Android Warriors +5 5 5 2 - B Create 2 Android special units
Cyborg Soldiers +5 5 5 2 - B Create 2 Cyborg special units
F.S. Active Warriors +5 5 5 2 - B Create 4 commandos
Clone +4 4 6 1 - B Make duplicate of your unit
Extra Fuel Cells +4 4 4 2 - 1 MR +3, 20 fuel (up to max)
All Seeing Eye +4 4 5 * - 3 Removes your fog of war
Tomahawk +4 4 6 1 30 - Minimal CD
Eulogy of Freedom +4 5 8 4 - 3 ATK +3, +4 DEF, +1 MR
Heroic Cause +3 3 7 1 - 4 ATK +4, +6 DEF
Adv. Reactive Armor +3 4 5 1 - 4 DEF +6
Nanotechnology +3 3 6 * - 5 Regen 5 HP
Smart Munitions +3 3 5 2 - 3 ATK +5, -5 CD
Demilitarized Zone +3 3 10 3 - 3 ATK +3, +3 DEF
(Single use units get permanent +10 MHP)
Laser-Guided Missile +2 3 3 1 22 - Minimal CD
Microfilament Armor +2 3 5 1 - 3 DEF +4, 4 HP/regen
Hold the Line +2 2 4 1 - 3 DEF +10, -5 ATK
Long-Range Patrol +2 3 5 3 - 3 ATK +2, +2 DEF
Double Time +2 2 4 1 - - Unit gets additional attack
Forced March +1 2 4 2 - 2 DEF +3, +3 MR to Inf/Single-Use
Evasive Maneuvers +1 2 4 1 - 2 DEF +5, -2 MR to Ground Vehicle
Expert Gunners +1 2 4 1 - 2 AR +1
Miscommunication +1 2 3 1 - 2 Unit can't move/attack
Protonanites +1 2 3 2 - 2 Regen 4 HP
Mortar Attack 0 0 2 2 8 -
Field Support 0 0 1 1 - - 5 HP recovery
Rally 0 0 3 1 - 2 DEF +2
Satellite Survey 0 0 2 1 - 2 SR +2
GPS Targeting 0 0 3 1 - 2 ATK +2
Demoralize -1 2 5 1 - 3 DEF -4, -4 ATK
Feint -1 2 4 1 - 2 DEF -4, -2 ATK
Corrode -1 2 5 1 - 3 DEF -4
Equipment Upgrade -1 2 4 1 - B Convert infantry into Hvy Infantry
Long-Range Artillery -1 2 4 2 12 -
Napalm -2 3 5 2 16 3 Fires (10)
Frenzy -2 3 4 1 - 3 ATK +5, -3 DEF
Volatile Charges -2 3 3 1 10 2 ATK +6, but takes damage 1st turn
Plague Bearer -2 4 4 2 - B 6hp/turn dmg to Area, destroys unit
Haywire -2 2 4 1 - 2 DEF -3, can't move or attack
Dirty Bomb -3 4 3 3 16 4 Unit is destroyed, Fallout (11)
Chemical Warfare -3 4 5 2 16 B DEF -4, -4 ATK
High Explosive Rounds -3 3 4 1 - 3 ATK +4, +10 CD
Broken Arrow -3 2 4 2 20 - Your ground unit is hit with 10 atk
Forlorn Hope -3 4 6 1 - 2 ATK +14, +10 DEF, can't move
Unit is destroyed end of next turn
Salvo -4 4 5 3 18 -
Sacrifice -4 4 5 2 21 - Unit is destroyed
Tactical Adhesive -4 4 4 3 16 3 MV -4
Mortonanites -4 2 4 1 - 3 Damage 6 HP per turn
DU Munitions -4 4 5 1 - 3 ATK +6
Fire Bombing -5 4 7 3 24 5 Fires (11)
Code Breaker -5 4 11 * - B SR +3 to all units
Elec. Countermeasures -5 5 5 * - 3 SR -3 to all enemy units
Cower -5 5 5 2 - 3 Units don't defend/attack/move
White Phosphorous -5 4 4 2 16 2 Centered on your unit,
Phosphorous Fires (22 veh/15 inf)
Thermonuclear War -6 7 7 3 40 4 Fallout (11)
MRV -6 6 6 4 20 4 Fallout (19)
High-Altitude Bombing -6 4 5 2 16 B Leaves mines on ground (25)
Mass Defection -6 6 7 2 - B Convert enemies next to your unit
Ultimate Plague -6 5 4 4 - B DEF -6, -2 SR, -1 ATK, 8 HP/damage
Units can't resupply
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12. Full Powers Descriptions [QFD]
Each power's "flavor text" is shown below. Powers are in alphabetical
order. The heading line for each power shows:
Power Name (Charge-Up/Cool-Down) [Power Level] - Territories that get it
Advanced Reactive Armor (3/6) [Good 3] - CA
Outfit a target vehicle unit you control with the newest in reactive
armor, giving it a +5 DEF for 4 turns.
All Seeing Eye (4/5) [Good 4] - PA
Use the newly deployed ASE satellite system to reveal the position and
movements of the enemy. Eliminates the fog of war for 3 turns.
Android Warriors (5/5) [Good 5] - CA, EU, RU
Send into battle the newest revolution in the strive to end the loss of
human life. 2 units of androids will be sent to the selected area, but
are destroyed at the end of battle.
Broken Arrow (2/4) [Evil -3] - CF, GP
Target unit you control directs down a missile onto its own location,
causing a STR 10 ATK to itself and a STR 20 ATK to all surrounding
enemy units.
Chemical Warfare (4/5) [Evil -3] - PA, EU
Delivers a high capacity chemical warhead into the target area, causing
all units struck by the agent to suffer a -4 to ATK and DEF for the rest
of the battle, and a STR 16 ATK.
Clone (4/6) [Good 4] - CF
Create a clone of target non-single-use unit you control that will appear
in an adjacent hex. Regardless of the target's status, this will be a
new unit lasting until the end of battle.
Code Breaker (4/11) [Evil -5] - CA
Break the enemy's communications code to reveal their positions well in
advance. Your units gain a +3 SR for the remainder of this battle.
Corrode (2/5) [Evil -1] - PA, EU
Corrode the armor of a target enemy vehicle unit and give it a -4 to
defense for 3 turns.
Cower (5/5) [Evil -5] - NE
Use your overwhelming might and force the taret group of enemy units to
cower in fear for 3 turns and not even defend themselves.
Cyborg Soldiers (5/5) [Good 5] - PA
The ultimate infantry soldier is now more machine than human. Send 2 units
of cyborgs to the selected area to engage the enemy, but know they will be
decomissioned at the end of the battle.
Demilitarized Zone (3/10) [Good 3] - CF, GP
Fortify the strength of your position, giving all your ground units in the
area a +4 DEF, an +3 ATK for 3 turns. Single use units get this bonus and
10 HP for the rest of the battle.
Demoralize (2/5) [Evil -1] - NE
Target enemy unit is demoralized from their cause, making them lose the
will to fight. The unit suffers a -4 ATK and -4 DEF for 3 turns.
Dirty Bomb (4/3) [Evil -3] - TX, RU
Target ground unit you control detonates a dirty bomb that deals a STR 16
ATK to all surrounding units and contaminates a 3 hex radius with fallout
that lingers for 4 turns.
Double Time (2/4) [Good 2] - TX
Situations that require speed should be met with the utmost haste. Order a
unit you control that has already attacked to reload, giving it an
additional attack this turn.
DU Munitions (4/5) [Evil -4] - PA
Outfit the selected group of units you control with depleted uranium rounds,
giving them a +6 ATK for 3 turns.
Electronic Countermeasures (5/5) [Evil -5] - CF, GP
Deploy highly effective ECMs onto all the enemy units , blinding them from
the action by reducing their sight range by 2 for 3 turns.
EMP (6/7) [Good 6] - GP, RU
Launch an electronic pulse missile at the target area that disables any
vehicles there, leaving them unable to move or attack for 6 turns. Any air
units in the area are destroyed. AA units retaliate still.
Equipment Upgrade (2/4) [Evil -1] - CA
Outfit a target infantry unit you control with new equipment and stim packs,
changing them into a heavy infantry unit at full strength.
Eulogy of Freedom (5/8) [Good 4] - CA, EU
Call on the spirit of freedom in all your units in the target area, imbuing
them with the passion of your cause. All your units within the target area
get a +3 ATK, +4 DEF and +1 MR for 3 turns.
Evasive Maneuvers (2/4) [Good 1] - CF, GP
A target ground vehicle you control advances with great caution, giving it a
+5 DEF but a reduced move speed by 2 for 2 turns.
Expert Gunners (2/4) [Good 1] - TX, RU
Assign an expert gunner to a target ground vehicle you control, giving it a
+1 AR for 2 turns.
Extra Fuel Cells (4/4) [Good 4] - TX
The target vehicle group you control presses on and gains a +3 to its MR for
the turn. It also gains +20 fuel, up to the normal maximum.
Feint (2/4) [Evil -1] - CF, GP
Order your units to use tricky maneuvers against this target enemy unit,
giving it a -2 ATK and -4 DEF for 2 turns.
Field Support (0/1) [Neutral 0] - CF
Order special field support to a target ground unit you control, healing
it 5 HPS.
Fire Bombing (4/7) [Evil -5] - TX, RU
Deliver a high payload napalm strike against all units in the target area,
dealing a strength 24 ATK and creating fires that continue to burn in the
area for 5 turns.
Forced March (2/4) [Good 1] - NE
Order the selected group of infantry or single use units you control into
a forced march, giving them a +3 MR and a +3 DEF for 2 turns.
Forlorn Hope (4/6) [Evil -3] - NE
Order a target unit you control to make the ultimate sacrifice to further
your cause. It gets a +14 ATK and +10 DEF, but loses all movement and is
destroyed at the end of the next turn.
Frenzy (3/4) [Evil -2] - CA, EU
Target unit you control is sent into a rage, receiving a +5 ATK and -3 DEF
for 3 turns.
Full Spectrum Active Warriors (5/5) [Good 5] - CF, GP
Reveal a group of secretly deployed commands. 4 commando units will appear
in the target area at full strength and ready for combat, but will not stay
with your force after the battle.
Glory (6/7) [Good 6] - CA, EU
Let the will of the fallen be fuel to the desire of the living. All your
units that have attacked this turn gain 1 additional attack and all units
gain +4 to their MR for this turn.
GPS Targeting (0/3) [Neutral 0] - TX
Use GPS targeting satellites to improve the effectiveness of a target unit
you control in combat, giving it a +2 ATK for 2 turns.
Haywire (2/4) [Evil -2] - TX
The target enemy vehicle unit's systems go haywire, depleting its ability to
move or attack for 2 turns and giving it a -3 DEF. AA still retaliates
against air units, but with minimal effect.
Heroic Cause (3/7) [Good 3] - NE
Guide your men to greatness, and then inspire them to do even more. Target
unit you control gains a +4 ATK and +5 DEF for 4 turns.
High Altitude Bombing (4/5) [Evil -6] - TX
Drops a flurry of bomblets from a very high altitude, causing destruction
and leaving deadly mines in the target area and beyond. Mines on enemy
units will go off next turn. Strike deals STR 16 ATK.
High Explosive Rounds (3/4) [Evil -3] - CA
Outfit a group of target units you control with highly explosive rounds,
giving it a +4 ATK and +10 CD for 3 turns.
Hold the Line (2/4) [Good 2] - CA, EU
Order a target ground unit you control to stand its ground at the cost of
mounting an offensive. The unit gets +10 DEF but -5 ATK for 3 turns.
Laser Guided Missile (3/3) [Good 2] - NE, GP, RU
Call in the laser guided attack against a target enemy unit, dealing it a
STR 22 ATK with minimal CD.
Long Range Artillery (2/4) [Evil -1] - TX, RU
Order in a strike from long range support artillery, dealing a STR 12 ATK
to all ground units in the target area.
Long Range Patrol (3/5) [Good 2] - PA
Use long range patrols to support your units int he field of battle giving
all your units in the target area +2 ATK and +2 DEF for 3 turns.
Mass Defection (6/7) [Evil -6] - CA, EU
Target unit you control releases a mind altering cone of influence that
affects all enemy units adjacent to the target, turning them into refreshed
units that will fight for your cause.
Microfilament Armor (3/5) [Good 2] - CF
Equip a target unit you control with new microfilament armor using
regenerative cells. The unit gains a +4 DEF and will regenerate 4 HPs
each turn for 3 turns.
Miscommunication (2/3) [Good 1] - CA
Disrupt communications to and from the target enemy unit, leaving them
confused and unable to move or attack for 2 turns. AA still retaliate
against air units, but with minimal effect.
Mortar Attack (0/2) [Neutral 0] - NE, GP, RU
Order in a strike from support mortars, dealing a STR 8 ATK to all the units
in the target area.
Mortonanites (2/4) [Evil -4] - CF
Use newly manufactured destructive nanites on the unsuspecting enemy units.
By deconstructing steel and flesh these machines will bypass armor,
inflicting 6 HP of damage per turn for 3 turns.
MRV (6/6) [Evil -6] - PA
Launch a Multiple Re-entry Vehicle peeppering the target area with low-grade
nuclear devices, causing massive CD, a STR 20 ATK against all units in the
area and extreme fallout for 5 turns.
Nanite Cloud (5/6) [Good 6] - CF
Newly developed dual purpose medical repair nanites have been introduced
with outstanding results. Use this power to make all your units gain 10 HP
and regenerate 8 HPs per turn for 5 turns.
Nanotechnology (3/6) [Good 3] - PA, EU
Use newly refined nanites to repair your vehicle. These machines will
repair all your vehicle units at the rate of 5 HP per turn for 5 turns.
Napalm (3/5) [Evil -2] - NE, GP, RU
Delier a high payload napalm strike against the target area, dealing a STR
16 ATK to all ground units in the area, and lighting fires that will
continue to burn for 3 turns.
Persuade (4/5) [Good 5] - NE
Learn to persuade rather than destroy. A target enemy unit has a change of
heart and decides to fight on your side instead in exchange for being fully
recovered. Defensive units are immune.
Plague Bearer (4/4) [Evil -2] - CF
Target unit you control explodes, spreading a biochemical plague to all
units within 2 hexes of the target unit.
Precision Guided Munitions (5/5) [Good 5] - TX
Roll out the latest in precision guided munitions to those worthy in your
force, giving all your units in the target area +1 AR for the rest of the
battle.
[**Note that the text is wrong, the bonus is +2 AR and it does not
affect infantry]
Protonanites (2/3) [Good 1] - PA, EU
Distribute newly developed universal protonanites into a group of units,
all your units in the target area will heal 4 HP per turn for the
next 2 turns.
Rally (0/3) [Neutral 0] - CA, EU
Rally your forces to persevere in the face of danger. The target unit you
control gets a +2 DEF for the next 2 turns.
Sacrifice (4/5) [Evil -4] - CA, EU
Order a target unit you control the pay the ultimate price in the name of
your cause. The unit will explode in a ball of fire and deal a STR 24 ATK
to all enemy units in adjacent hexes.
Satellite Survey (0/2) [Neutral 0] - PA
Target unit is aided by satellites and gains a +2 SR for 2 turns.
Salvo (4/5) [Evil -4] - NE, GP, RU
Designate the selected area for a massive artillery barrage. Any unit
within the target area will suffer a STR 18 ATK.
Smart Munitions (3/5) [Good 3] - TX, RU
Outfit a group of your force with advanced smart guided munitions, giving
all your units in the target area +5 ATK and -5 CD bonus for 3 turns.
Strike Force (6/6) [Good 6] - TX
Airdrop in a force that can penetrate enemy lines. The units will appear
within the target area and include 2 M8s, 2 Humvees, and 3 commandos. These
units will last until the end of this battle.
Tactical Adhesive (4/4) [Evil -4] - TX
Use your long range artillery to deliver newly developed tactical adhesive
onto the field of battle. All units in the target area will suffer a STR
18 ATK and a -4 MR for 3 turns.
Thermonuclear War (7/7) [Evil -6] - NE, GP, RU
An ICBM carrying a hydrogen nuclear payload will be delivered on the target
area, decimating everything and leaving nuclear fallout in the area for 4
turns. Deals a STR 40 ATK to all units.
Tomahawk (4/6) [Good 4] - NE, GP, RU
Launch a precision guided nuclear tomahawk missile at a taret enemy unit.
This unit will suffer a STR 30 ATK and the hex will suffer a minute
amount of CD.
Ultimate Armor (6/7) [Good 6] - PA
Equip the target group of units you control with the latest in defensive
advances, regenerating incineration armor. The unit gains +10 DEF, +20 MHP
and heals 10 HPs per turn for 3 turns
Ultimate Plague (5/4) [Evil -6] - CF
The Black Death. All units in the target area will suffer a -5 DEF, -2 SR,
-1 AR, lose 8 HP per turn, and cannot resupply for the rest of the battle.
The deadly clouds made will last for 5 turns.
Volatile Charges (3/3) [Evil -2] - PA
Outfit a target unit you control with highly damaging but volatile ammo.
The unit gets +6 ATK for 2 turns, but is dealt 10 HP of damage
White Phosphorous (4/4) [Evil -5] - PA, EU
Order a target unit you control to detonate a chemical warhead, dealing a
STR 18 ATK to all enemy units in adjacent hexes. Chemical fires hot enough
to melt metal will burn there for 2 turns.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
13. Campaign Mode [QFC]
a. Territory Values
At the beginning of the campaign, 'goodies' are randomly distributed to
each territory. Each territory gets 1-3, usually 2. Once you've taken
over a territory with the goodies, their effects are cumulative (or
'stacked') up to 10 times. Each territory also generates a set amount of
income, with each faction getting one 'core territory' that generates more.
Goody icons/effects (from the manual):
$$$ - +5% extra income
Airplane - -5% aircraft cost
Infantry - -5% infantry cost
Tank - -5% ground vehicle cost
Target - +1% extra damage when attacking
Shield - -1% damage when being attacked
Gas Can - +5% total fuel per unit
Wrench - -5% repair cost
Territory Name Starting Faction Cash per Turn
-----------------------------------------------------
Northern Cascasdes Pacifica $16,500
Central Cascades Pacifica $11,000
Arcadian Plains Pacifica $11,000
Southeastern Arcadia Pacifica $11,000
Northern California California Conf. $11,000
Southern California California Conf. $16,500
The Great Basin California Conf. $11,000
Arizona Territory California Conf. $11,000
New Mexico Territory Rep. of Texas $11,000
North Texas Rep. of Texas $15,000
Southern Texas Rep. of Texas $10,000
Oklahoma Grasslands Rep. of Texas $10,000
Great Plains Great Plains Fed. $10,500
Dakotas Great Plains Fed. $10,500
Central Heartland Great Plains Fed. $15,700
Great Lakes Territory Great Plains Fed. $10,500
Mississippi Delta Confederacy $10,500
The Cumberlands Confederacy $10,500
Greater Florida Confederacy $15,700
The Carolinas Confederacy $11,000
Eastern Shenandoah European Union $22,000
Ohio Valley New England All. $10,500
New York New England All. $15,700
Northern New England New England All. $10,500
b. AI notes
- The AI loves to go after the weakest unit, even if it means
overextending their forces or parking their forces in spots
with terrible terrain modifiers (like water)
- Once you've defended a map against the AI once and know where
they deploy, they'll probably keep deploying there and attacking
the same targets. Only their units might change... if you used
a lot of aircraft last time, they may bring more AA next time.
- The AI loves to bomb units that aren't defended by AA, so if you
send some out where it can see them (and can't see the Chaparral),
you can try to shoot down their bombers.
- I don't see a big difference between Easy and Hard mode. What I
noticed the most was that the CPU gives up without a fight a lot on
'Easy', but makes you fight for almost every territory on 'Hard'.
- Apparently there are different AI "personalities". Each one likes
different types of regions, depending on what bonuses are in them
or how much revenue they generate. This is difficult to determine
and exploit, but if you can see that an AI "likes" attack bonuses
(for example), you can try to build a buffer around your territories
that have them, so the AI will be convinced to attack someone else.
- On the PC version, you can only be attacked once per turn on 'Easy',
three times on 'Medium' and any number of times on 'Hard'.
- The AI resigns if it doesn't think the units it has can defeat the
units it can "see". This is especially true if its units are damaged.
If you use 'Electronic Countermeasures', you can probably prevent
the AI from resigning until it wears off (since it cant see any units
at all). Likewise, if you can damage but not kill a unit on your
turn, you're probably better off leaving it alone and hoping the AI
will stick it out for another turn.
- I'm pretty sure the AI "cheats", at least on Hard. It seems to know
when my units are protected by AA, even if it shouldn't be able to
see them.
c. Controller tricks
- If your territories touch the territory you're attacking on more
than one side, you can use the D-Pad or left analog stick to change
the direction you're attacking from.
- Press 'Up' on the D-Pad to see your objectives. What's even more
useful is that your units appear on this map as red dots, the
defenders are blue. Use this to see if you've missed any units,
especially fast-moving Humvees, infantry or choppers that might be
looking like one of your own.
- Press Left/Right on the D-Pad when deploying units to switch to
a different unit to deploy (useful because your units are grouped
by when you bought them, not by type)
- Press START to skip unit move/attack animations
- Select a unit and press 'Down' to bring up their "blind targeting"
grid. You can pick any of the displayed red squares to shoot into.
This is mostly useful for Artillery to fire at enemies you saw when
you were moving units around. If you're trying to become evil, you
will need to use this tactic a lot to attack your own cities to
raise the collateral damage bar.
d. Campaign Mode Strategies
- Don't deploy helicopters at the front line. They're really fast,
so they can get to the front from a rear position quickly. This
way, the enemy doesn't have a chance to take them out with AA in
a rush the first turn.
- Likewise, deploy Chaparral as far back as you can to still let
them run to the front in 1-2 turns. Heavy Tanks can take a lot
of abuse, and the time will let you see what you're up against.
- If you plan to defend a key city the enemy must take, and it is
far away from where the enemy starts, you can deploy engineers on
your front line to lay lots of mines, slowly working backward.
Start laying mines on the roads. If the enemy starts out close to
you, they will probably get to attack your engineers before they
get a chance to do anything.
- More important than capturing objectives is bankrupting the enemy.
If your units can move into a city to capture it, but the enemy is
somewhere else, see how many of them you can destroy before you
force the tactical battle to end. If you're about to resign, see if
you can damage the enemy in a last attack first, then resign when
you have nothing else to move.
- Don't use artillery, bombers or 'mortar attack' on units in cities
if you want to increase your political reputation. Bomb the crap
out of cities indiscriminately if you want to lower it. If you don't
make an effort to go evil, you'll probably end up good. To get the
evil powers, use artillery as much as possible and bomb cities even
if nothing is in them. If you have special abilities like 'Mortar
Attack', they're great for lowering your reputation.
- When attacking, try to keep your units (especially your helicopters)
within range of your AA. Chaparrals can blanket a 4-square area
around them with fighter-repelling goodness.
- Units that attack or defend are "committed" to that territory. If
you are attacked in that same territory again, all those units will
automatically be selected (green) for defense. If you are planning
to attack and will be making a new faction neighbor, try to attack
a territory that also touches another faction. Hopefully you'll get
lucky and the other faction will attack the territory you just took,
allowing you to re-use your attackers.
- Terrain doesn't have a huge effect on vehicles, unless it's water.
Never leave a unit in water unless you had to in order to blow up
some AA. Similarly, leave the water squares open and invite the
enemy to park in them to attack a weak unit at the back of the line.
- You get partisans for free if your reputation is higher than the
opposing faction's, see their section for usage suggestions.
- Your units heal themselves for free if you leave them alone. Use this
and special powers like 'Protonanites' to minimize your repair costs
early in the game.
e. Unit Experience
Units can gain experience (somehow). I'm not clear on how this works,
since it seems that units that never attacked gained experience and
my main battle tanks seem to gain it slowly. In any case, when you
have gained a bunch, the unit will display a "" icon in the top-right
corner. This is the military rank of 'Captain', and the unit will
have a bonus +20% (usually 4) max hit points (when it gains it, it
doesn't also gain 4 HP to make it full health, so you have to pay to
repair it). After it gains a bunch more XP, it can become a General
(Star icon) and gain an additional +50% Max hp (+70%, usually +14 extra
HP total).
Since 'General' is a much bigger bonus than 'Captain', once you have
a bunch of units at Captain, try to get them as much experience as
possible. Use them for attacks while sending as few un-promoted and
'General' units as possible.
At the end of campaign mode, you can repeatedly 'milk' experience from
your last opponent by reducing them to 1 territory, then hitting 'turn
end' until they eventually attack you. After you defend with the units
you want to gain experience, rinse & repeat. They'll probably send a
ton of artillery and infantry, and possibly an AA or two.
The following rules seem to apply to gaining experience:
- Units don't get individual XP for killing things
- Experience is awarded at the end of the skirmish to all units that
survived.
- All units that were deployed get an equal share of XP and they all
need the same amount to become Captain/General.
- Experience is divided up among the units you brought, so bringing
more units will result in each of them getting less XP
- The outcome of the battle can reduce your experience; resigning or
failing to capture/defend the territory lowers your total. You
get more XP if you destroy all enemy units than if the CPU resigns.
- It seems a lot easier to get XP in the beginning of the game.
My working theory is that the total cost of enemy units destroyed is
converted into XP and given to the units that survived. It's also
reasonable to guess that units get XP per turn of the battle. You can
see which of these theories seems to work best for you.
I've never seen upgraded AI units.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
14. Campaign Mode Walkthrough [QFW]
If you're new to the game and want a quick run-through for your first time
playing the Campaign, you can use this guide. Most of the fun of the game
comes from trying different strategies, so the fun really begins once you've
beaten the game once...
Read the 'Campaign Mode' section for strategy tips, then select the game's
menu option for 'Campaign Mode'. Pick a New campaign, Easy mode, then
choose Pacifica for your starting faction. This should be the easiest set
of options for your first run.
a. Turn 1.
You should not get attacked your first turn, which is good since you go
next-to-last in each round. If you do get attacked, resign and restart
Campaign Mode.
When it's your turn, immediately hit 'X' to manage units. You should have
around $150,000-$175,000 in ready cash. Press 'Y' to go into 'Sell/Repair'
mode, then have a look at your starting units. Sell everything that isn't
one of these:
Anti-Aircraft: Chaparral
Infantry: [Sell all infantry]
Helicopters: Apache, Warrior
Aircraft: [Keep all aircraft]
Light Armor: Humvee
Medium Armor: LAV
Artillery: MERL
Heavy Armor: FCS Stuart, if you have any
After selling, you should have around $500,000-$600,000. Now spend it to
get a more focused collection of units; try to end up with a force that
has these (at the minimum):
Anti-Aircraft: 2x Chaparral
Helicopters: 2x Apache
Light Armor: 2x Humvee [these will be your scouts in the beginning]
Artillery: 2x MERL
Heavy Armor: 8x FCS Stuart [these will be the core of your army]
End your turn without attacking.
b. Beginning-Midgame (Turns 2-25 or so)
Try to avoid attacking, while building up a strong force capable of
defending yourself while you go off to attack.
This is your target army:
15 FCS Stuart Heavy Armor [Defensive cover for everything else]
10 Apache Helicopter [Ground vehicle killers]
5 Chaparral Anti-Aircraft [Copter-killers, anti-recon-fighter]
5 JSF Fighter Aircraft [Copter-killers]
4 Stealth Bomber [Heavy damage on outlying units]
2 Warrior Helicopter [Expendable scouts]
You should have this by the time there's only two factions left for you
to conquer. That won't be for a while, and this strike force costs a
lot of money. To get there, build evenly up to this:
10 FCS Stuart, 4 Apache, 5 Chaparral
Use Humvees as scouts in the beginning, they'll get blown up a lot. Try
to replace them so you'll always have 2 for scouting. If you lose any
of your starting LAVs or MERLs, try to replace them with FCS Stuarts.
Defend yourself when attacked. Since California usually goes for Texas,
you probably won't be attacked for a while, and then it's likely to be
no more than once per turn (most likely from the Great Plains at first,
then California later). Use all your units to defend.
On defense mode, buy 2 defense towers and 2 single-use artillery guns.
Now try to identify three cities on the map:
A. A city you're pretty sure the enemy will be attacking early
B. A secondary city the enemy might go for
C. A city behind your lines that can reach both A and B equally fast
Place your airfield at the highest-value objective, preferably behind
your lines.
Put one artillery gun at city 'B'. Put the other single-use stuff at
city 'A'. Fill up the rest of positions at City A with FCS Stuarts, put
any extra ones at City B, then City C. Put all your helicopters and
anti-aircraft at City C (so that the enemy won't be able to get there
the first turn). Never deploy an FCS Stuart (or any other ground
vehicle) in a water square.
Keep your FCS Stuarts in your cities, cautiously send out your Humvee's
to scout the area, running away when you see an enemy. The first couple
of times you get attacked, you can deploy your fighters to patrol the
edges of your sight range. After turn 20 or so, this becomes a worse
strategy as the enemy starts bringing up more anti-aircraft.
Use your starting special power 'Satellite Survey' on your scout. You
should have it available on the first turn of every battle.
Prioritize destroying anti-aircraft (Vulcans, Avengers and Chaparrals).
An FCS Stuart can usually destroy these at point-blank range. If you
can pop out of the city, destroy one and run back, that's a great
tactic. Once you're sure the area's clear of them, bring in your Apaches
to start hosing the ground units (pick off the ones in the back if you
can, so that you can be sure there's no lurking AA). Artillery units,
M8s and other ground vehicles are good targets since they can't hurt your
copters much. If you see any Abrams or FCS tanks, call in a strike from
your Stealth Bomber if it's not on a city tile. Your fighters can
attack enemy helicopters.
Once that's done, attack the most expensive targets you can (so target
partisans and infantry last if they're not blocking your way). Attack
helicopters with Chaparrals if they can get back behind your troops
afterward.
Never use artillery or bombers on a unit that's in a city. When your
reputation goes up enough to get 'Protonanites', kick it in as soon as
it comes up every battle to minimize repair costs.
Save after every turn where you did not lose any territory, especially
if you inflicted heavy casualties on the enemy without taking much of
a loss. Repair your units after every battle.
If California blocks you in entirely so it's the only one bordering you,
then move on to the Midgame
c. Midgame-End (Turns 25-50 or so)
Once you have a force around this size:
12 FCS Stuart, 6 Apache, 5 Chaparral
And especially if California has boxed you in so you can be attacked only
once per turn, it's time to go on the offensive.
Start attacking in Northern California, then work your way down and east
as long as you can keep from touching a new faction's territory. Use
about half your main force to attack:
6 FCS Stuart, 3 Apache, 2 Chaparral, 2x scout unit [Humvee/Warrior]
The enemy will give up without a fight a lot of times, especially if their
forces are low and they're bordering other factions. Your main focus on
attack should be to destroy as many units as possible. The enemy will
usually resign rather than fight to the bitter end or make you capture all
the objectives.
Send in your FCS Stuarts as a spearhead, with a Chaparral as far behind
them as you can, but still covering them within it's 5-hex protection area.
When you encounter the enemy, use 'Long Range Patrol' on your FCS Stuarts.
Lag your other Chaparral behind this force, and use it as a 'base' to
protect your Apache units from fighter attack. Let the Apaches scout out
to the sides and run back to safety.
Repair your units after every fight, replace any that got destroyed,
supplement your remaining force with single-use towers & guns if you have
to defend yourself.
If you can attack two or more territories without giving yourself a new
faction neighbor, pick the one with the '$' symbol in it.
As you capture more territories, you'll get more money per turn. When you
have a comfortable amount (enough to replace a Warrior after every fight),
replace your Humvees with Warriors and use them as scouts instead. Don't
buy more aircraft till you've bought the full force of ground units.
Consider resetting any battles that cost you a lot more than the enemy,
especially if it cost you more than you can afford to replace.
When you've built up to the 'Target Army', you're probably in the Endgame.
d. Endgame (Turns 50+)
Supplement your attacking force with 2x Bombers and 2x fighters. Send
about half the FCS Stuarts & Apaches. You can no longer buy any single-use
units, but that shouldn't be a problem anymore. Use FCS Stuarts where you
would have used single-use guns before.
You should have the 'All Seeing Eye' special power by now as well. Activate
it as soon as it comes up (unless you think you're really far away from the
enemy). It only works for a few turns, so take advantage of it as much as
you can:
- Bomb targets that aren't covered by AA, or bomb the AA itself if it
doesn't have another AA nearby
- Cyborg Soldiers creates two extra units that can be placed anywhere on
the map when All Seeing Eye is active, so drop them where they can do
a lot of damage to poorly defended stuff. They can gank some AA, or
start harassing the enemy's airbase.
Don't clobber the final territory unless you have a full force, or enough
money to buy one.
After you've united the continental US again, you'll be treated to a
cutscene before it's off to fight the commies. For the final battle against
Russia, it's basically 'Skirmish Tactics'. Take a full force of units, even
if it means buying infantry.
You aren't worried about losses in the final battle, so you can either focus
on the objectives or maximum carnage, whichever you prefer. Whoever is
deployed in the North part of the map will be stuck in the snow and it'll be
a while before they can get to the road, so only put helicopters and a few
Chaparral's there.
Once the 'All Seeing Eye' kicks in, survey the map...
- Once all the helicopters are destroyed, you can use your fighters to
attack enemy patrolling fighters. This is normally a bad idea, but you
have no further use for your JSFs at this point.
- A concerted attack by all your bombers on the airfield will either
destroy it (while damaging each of your bombers by 50% or so), or leave
it damaged enough to take out with cyborgs deployed on top of it. This
will stop the enemy from sending out swarms of 'Bear' bombers.
You shouldn't have much trouble with this map, especially not on Easy mode
with a full army. Once you've beaten it, enjoy your cinematic ending.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
15. Campaign strategies
a. Playing as EU on Hard difficulty
This is often considered the toughest game. The EU starts with only
one territory, worth double the revenue of most others. This means that
your two neighbors (New England and Confederacy) are almost certain to
both attack you the first turn. Since you go last, you have no chance
to buy better units beforehand. If they beat you, its game over.
You also start out with less revenue than anyone else, and you cannot
afford to sit and defend yourself while building an army. Your losses
from repairs will exceed your revenue, so you must attack your neighbors
starting on the first turn.
These were my strategies for beating the game this way, but I'm sure
there are other good ones.
- Surviving Turn 1
Thankfully, units used to defend can defend multiple times, so you don't
need to split up your good defenders. I chose to defend with only my
favorite units: heavy armor, AA, helicopters and aircraft.
You can deploy most of your units in Baltimore (it's right next to the
ruins of Washington DC), though if you're being attacked from the West,
you might have to leave a heavy armor down at Norfolk, at the south end
of the map. If the AI has a lot of units, they'll probably send them
all to fight you at Baltimore, but if they have only a couple they may
try to sneak over and take Norfolk with a partisan or humvee.
The goal is to survive, so keep your tanks in cities, and your AA
protected behind your heavy armor. Place your airfield right on the
front line in one of Baltimore's city tiles. Buy 1-3 defense towers
and stick them around Baltimore too. They'll be a nasty surprise for
any enemy bombers, especially if you have a Gepard or Tridon covering
your tanks too. Put your helicopters and 1 AA unit in the city behind
Baltimore, then bring them up so that they can barely get to the front
line if you need them. Avoid using them till you've taken out the
enemy AA first.
You probably want to save at the beginning of each round of battle. You
also want to inflict as much damage on the enemy as you can. They like
to send out patrolling fighters, so be sure to punish them with AA. If
you don't have any helicopters to attack and the enemy doesn't have AA
to protect their patrollers, you can use your own fighters to gang up on
an enemy patroller.
These will likely be the biggest and toughest fights of the game, so once
you're past them with minimal losses, you've practically won. It's not
unreasonable to take 20-30k of losses and inflict 750k or more to each
opponent on the first turn.
- Attacking
Unfortunately for you, the revenue you get from Washington DC isn't
enough to cover your repair costs, let alone mount an offensive. So
you'll have to attack your first turn. I picked New York, since it's
worth the most of your neighboring territories.
I sold all the units except heavy armor, AA, helicopters and aircraft.
Then I bought a bunch of EU Goliaths. If you want to sell Mangusta
helicopters and Tornado fighter jets, now would be a good time to do
that too. Your neighboring factions have lots of AA in the beginning,
so you'll have to use your aircraft sparingly anyway.
New England will hopefully be in bad shape after the beating you gave
them for attacking you. I sent my Challenger tanks along with half of
the Goliaths, a couple helicopters and an AA to go take New York. If
you're feeling ambitious, send along a Nimrod and a Typhoon to gain
some experience.
Systematically destroy their AA and use helicopters to destroy their
artillery. Destroy as many units as possible.
- More attacking
Your neighbors will attack Eastern Shenandoah as much as they can. Once
you've broken New England's back by taking out New York, they won't be
able to replace their losses and their attacks will get more pitiful.
Beware the sneaky attack from the East; if they have hardly any units,
they'll send Humvees and Partisans around to try to capture objective
points. If you didn't defend Norfolk (it's worth 100 points at the south
end of the map), they'll scoop up a cheap win. A single heavy armor can
fend off the scout unit they send over.
When the Confederacy attacks you from the south, just sit in Baltimore
and let your special powers charge up while they run to you. Feel free
to use bombers on the first Humvees you see, and Fighters on the first
helicopters. The AI tends to send these out way in advance of their
anti aircraft, so you have at least a couple turns before you have to
worry about any Chaparrals ruining your day.
You should attack every turn until you've built up a buffer around the
Eastern Shenandoah Attack Magnet. You can probably take out New England
entirely and scoop up Florida before the Great Plains and Texas help you
finish off the Confederacy. I ended up attacking for at least 15 turns.
Basically, if you DONT attack, the CPU will build up its forces and
attack you. By attacking constantly and wiping out their units, you
make them spend their turn rebuilding instead. Either way, you have
to fight, but it's more advantageous to you to be the aggressor.
- Midgame
After you've taken out New England and the Confederacy, and you have the
entire East coast under the iron thumb of the European Union, you're
home free. Constantly buy more EU Goliaths and build up your forces
while taking out your neighbors. This was my main army that I used to
take out the last two factions:
14 EU Goliaths (steamroll the enemy)
10 Tiger (anti-vehicle, occasional anti-helicopter)
1 Tridon (to defend the helicopters)
3 Gepard (to defend the tanks)
4 Typhoon (anti-helicopter)
4 Nimrod (anti-vehicle/infantry)
Even half this force is a bit unwieldy in combat, so adding more units
didn't seem to help me much. You still have 6 unit slots left. I left
them empty for a while and got partisans to help. At the end, I bought
6 more Nimrods and blitzkrieg'd the russians with massive bombing runs.
b. Playing as Great Plains on Hard
This is my pick as the hardest game. You don't get an FCS tank, so you
are stuck with the Abrams for defense. You start out with 4 factions
surrounding you (New England, Confederacy, Texas and Pacifica) and will
have to move quickly and attack carefully to keep the number of factions
attacking you down.
On Easy and Medium mode, the number of factions that can attack you per
turn is limited, but you get no such free ride on 'Hard'.
On the plus side, the 'FCS Grant' is a great artillery piece.
It's a little slow, but it has nearly twice the armor of the next-best
artillery unit, and is tied for the highest number of hit points of any
unit besides the airfield. It also has a high air-attack score, and can
attack any unit (ground or air) from 4 squares away. A veteran FCS Grant
has a freakish 42 hit points, making them arguably better than an Abrams
for defense.
- Early Game
Be prepared to lose one of your territories on the first turn. If you
don't attack and try to defend all your territories, Pacifica, Texas,
New England and the Confederacy will all take potshots at you. In a
couple turns, so will California after they take over one of Texas'
territories. If they smell blood in the water, you're hosed.
So I'd attack on the first turn, digging into Pacifica with the aim of
inflicting massive damage on their units. Before it's your turn, New
England and the Confederacy will both probably try to take out the EU,
so you should hopefully get to start by fixing your units.
Sell your infantry, light armor, medium armor (besides LAV) and
artillery. Buy Abrams heavy armor and FCS Grant in equal quantities.
Take a third of your force (making sure to pack at least a couple AA and
at least one fighter) and attack Montana. Deploy your airfield close to
an enemy city, put your AA in the back and spread your units out so they
are covered by all the anti-aircraft support. You might even send out a
unit to see the enemy and run back. The idea is to provoke the enemy
into attacking you- hopefully blowing up some of their aircraft and
letting them bring their helicopters and scouts in range of your units.
After a turn or two of beating up what they send your way, start to
slowly move toward the enemy. Freely use your FCS Grants and 'Mortar
Attack' power on enemies in cities. If the FCS Grants are about to
end a turn without firing at an enemy, select them and press 'Down' to
bring up blind-firing, then shoot at a city. The goal is to go 'Evil',
so just as important as destroying the enemy is making sure that the
'Collateral Damage' bar is raised over the halfway point each battle.
After you take Montana, you can expect Texas to attack you, followed by
Pacifica's retaliation, New England (and if you defend against that,
the Confederacy will probably get in on attacking you too). I'd use
most of my forces to defend against Texas, use the rest for fending off
Pacifica (they won't have been able to rebuild much if you hosed them
good on your attack- if you have some money, buy 1-2 air defense towers
to give them something to attack) and let New England take over Great
Lakes. Without Great Lakes, the Confederacy can't attack you unless
they go through Texas first.
Most likely, both New England and Confederacy will go back to tormenting
the EU and leave you alone (unless you commit all your forces to attacks
or defense somewhere else). With Pacifica's back broken, you and
California will probably dismantle their faction. There's still no
rest for the wicked here, as after Pacifica's gone you are still left
with three strong factions on your doorstep.
California and Texas and New England will occasionally attack you, but
probably not all on the same turn anymore. Since Texas's territories
are hard to defend, I'd go for California first. Again, the first time
you attack you'll be in for a tough fight. You may want to wait until
just after you've spanked California hard for attacking you.
I kept buying equal numbers of Abrams and FCS Grants during this time.
- Midgame
With Pacifica and California gone, you finally have some breathing room.
Hopefully only Texas and New England are on your border, and New England
and the Confederacy are still busy fighting each other or the EU.
This was my target army:
12 Abrams
8 FCS Grant
4 Apache
4 Chaparral
4 JSF
4 Stealth Bombers
That leaves 6 units to play around with. I made the most use of single-
use units with Great Plains than I've done with any other faction. Since
you are often attacked several times per turn, buy single-use towers,
artillery and (occasionally) bunkers to defend against each attack.
After one attack, they'll disappear and you can buy them all over again
to defend again.
Towards the end, I bought 6 more stealth bombers.
It's important for you more than any other faction to get experience for
your units. A veteran ("General") Abrams is a lot less likely to get
blown up on the first turn of combat than a standard one. If you know
your opponent is weak (because you attacked them before and took out a
lot of their best units), send only a small number of "Captain" or un-
upgraded units to take over the territory. Focus on promoting "Captains"
to "General" first, then worry about the standard units. Once a unit has
made General, use it as little as possible till your other units get
there.
The 'Napalm' evil power leaves behind a circle of 7 flaming squares that
persist for three turns. It's great for cutting off passes through the
mountains and buying time.
- Endgame
With Texas gone too, you have over half the country under your thumb. I
left New England to last so I could make them suffer for daring to take
over Great Lakes at the beginning of the game.
Hopefully, New England and the Confederacy were able to take out the EU.
If they weren't, you can try giving the EU a little push. I went after
Ohio, then Eastern Shenandoah and New York. Then I let them suffer in
Maine while I went after the Confederacy.
The only thing that can survive the Thermonuclear Attack is an airfield.
If the enemy still has some aircraft left, see if you can find their
airfield, then Nuke it, followed by Napalm, Salvo and all your bombers
(they'll take about half damage for attacking the airfield).
If you want to upgrade your units (and I especially recommend that you
upgrade your stealth bombers to Veteran), you can skip every turn after
reuniting all of the US except Maine. Let New England attack you and
use your un-upgraded units to defend. Expect some AA, lots of
artillery and a sprinkling of infantry and armor. If you want to gain
experience faster, let them re-conquer New York, then repeatedly take it
back.
- Russia
This was at least the 5th time I've attacked Russia, so I thought I'd
mix things up a little. I had my bombers attack where I know their
airfield is (in the city to the south-west). Then I reloaded after I
saw where their AA was. One bomber per AA was enough to take them
out, then on the next turn a concerted bombing blitz took out their
airfield. I suppose it might be cheating to use advance knowledge of
where the enemy is, but I was getting bored of smacking Russia around.
Veteran stealth bombers can survive hits from one or two AA, so I
spread my helicopters out a lot and bombed every AA I saw. Liberal
use of Napalm and Salvo hosed the other units, and I saved the
Thermonuclear Blast for a coup-de-grace against the last enemy units.
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16. 101 uses for a Partisan [QFP]
If you go for a 'Good' political reputation (which you usually end up as,
unless you try hard to be Evil), you get freebie units called 'Partisans'
to help you. They're basically like Humvees you don't have to pay for.
You only get them if your reputation is higher than that of whoever you're
fighting, and you don't have the max number of total units. Pretty much
any attack will kill them (they can survive a hit from the weaker infantry
units, humvees and other partisans).
You'll probably see them making up most of the computer's army after you've
conquered lots of the other faction's territory and they're down to their
last 1 or 2 (even if your reputation is higher).
Partisans aren't entirely useless. Here's a list of things they can be
good for:
- Taking over the map when the other faction has only a few units left
- Leave them in cities you aren't expecting the CPU to get to, to let
you know if they do and hopefully delay them a turn.
- Scout ahead of your main tanks
- Finish off units reduced to 1 health
- Decoys (the computer loves to blow them up, and commandos will even
leave their highly-defensible positions in a city to come get them)
- Spotters for artillery, cyborg deployment, Nuke launch
- Checking the back of the enemy lines for AA before using bombers
There aren't 101 reasons there, but perhaps you can contribute some.
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17. Cheat Codes
These codes were on the 'Codes' section for Shattered Union. I
haven't needed to use them (you can just save & reload if things don't go
your way; I guess that's still kinda cheating). I'm crediting the people
who put these on, though the same codes are posted on lots of
sites without attribution.
At the US map in Campaign Mode (not in a battle), press Start, go to Cheats
then enter one of these codes:
XBBXB - Raise political reputation by 1 (towards Green)
XYXBA - Skip everyone else's turn, start yours again
XBABY - Conquer the entire country and go on to fight Russia
[These three were contributed by VideoGameFan]
XXAAY - Gain $100,000 cash
[contributed by Lyndis75]
Take over an individual territory:
BXXXA - Arcadia Plains
BXXAX - Arizona Territory
BXYXA - Carolinas
BXXXY - Central Cascades
BXXBY - Central Heartland
BXYXY - Cumberlands
BXXBX - Dakotas
BXYYB - Eastern Shenandoah
BXYXB - Florida
BXXYA - Great Basin
BXXBA - Great Lakes
BXXBB - Great Plains
BXYXX - Mississippi Delta
BXXYB - New Mexico
BXYYY - New York
BXXYX - Northern California
BXXXB - Northern Cascades
BXYYA - Northern New England
BXXAA - Northern Texas
BXYYX - Ohio Valley
BXXAY - Oklahoma Grasslands
BXXXX - Southeastern Cascades
BXXYY - Southern California
BXXAB - Southern Texas
[contributed by hmmcdowell2004, blackfate]
-- There should probably be a cheat code to lower your political
reputation, but no-one seems to have found it.
In battle, press Start and pull up the cheat menu to use battle cheats:
ABBAY - Win automatically
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18. Misc
List of cinema scenes in the game:
- Story recap at start of the game
- Tutorial videos
- Losing your last territory in campaign mode: Game Over
- Turn 5 of campaign mode: Russia behind the attacks
- Turn 10 of campaign mode: Russia conquers Alasks
- After conquering the entire US: Off to fight Russia
- Uniting the US but losing to the Russians: Wuss ending
- Uniting the US and beating the Russians: Good ending
[Note that there are different voice-overs for the Wuss and Good endings
depending on whether you were Good, Evil or Neutral at the end]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
19. Version History
1.3 - Notes added to many sections, winning as GP tips
1.2 - Misc, Cheat sections added, winning as EU tips, more strategies & unit
discussion. Version history added.
1.1 - Terrain effects on movement determined, attack formula determined,
effects of Experience on units
1.0 - Campaign walkthrough added, territory values, AI notes, campaign tips
0.9 - Terrain effects on armor & movement, full text of faction powers
Website links
0.8 - First version submitted
Includes unit comparison chart, what powers each faction gets,
faction powers quick-summary chart.
Basic unit discussion, skirmish strategy
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
20. Acknowledgements
Astrosmurf, Psicop - suggestions for new sections
VideoGameFan, Lyndis75, hmmcdowell2004, blackfate - cheat codes
YOUR NAME could be here (and in the section where you submit stuff) if
you send in something I can put in this FAQ! My email address is at the
top of the file.